This verse continues the metaphor of the soldier. Soldier on service translates a term that can refer either to a soldier actually engaged in warfare, or to a person who is currently serving as a soldier; the latter seems to be in focus here, hence “A soldier on active duty” (Good News Translation; also New English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Phillips). The phrase No soldier on service may also be expressed as “No soldier who is doing his work as a soldier” or “… who is doing a soldier’s job.” There are also a number of ways to express the phrase No soldier; for example, “A soldier” (Good News Translation), “Soldiers” (Contemporary English Version), “Any soldier” and so on, moving the negative to the verb, “does not get entangled….”

Gets entangled translates a rare verb that occurs only here and in 2 Peter 2.20, and refers to the act of getting so involved in something that one becomes restricted and controlled, no longer free to do what one should.

Pursuits translates a word that occurs only here in the New Testament and that is used for ordinary things that people do everyday. Civilian, on the other hand, translates the prepositional phrase “of the life” (or “of life”), with the word for “life” referring to ordinary existence. The two terms together describe the activities of ordinary life as contrasted to that of the life of a soldier in active duty, hence “everyday affairs” (New Revised Standard Version), “affairs of civilian life” (Good News Translation, Translator’s New Testament), “outside jobs” (Contemporary English Version).

To satisfy is literally “to please,” “to gain someone’s approval.” The one who enlisted him translates the dative participle of a Greek verb that means “to enlist someone as a soldier.” The second half of this verse is introduced by the Greek word “in order that,” which marks either result or, more likely, purpose. The purpose of the soldier not being involved in affairs other than that of his job as a soldier is so that he may be pleasing and acceptable to the one who enlisted him. This purposive element is retained in New American Bible, Revised, “To satisfy the one who recruited him, a soldier does not become entangled….” Another way of expressing to satisfy the one who enlisted him is “to cause the person who commands him (or, his commander) to be pleased with him.” Languages will differ as to the ordering of the sentences in this verse. Translators in some languages will find Revised Standard Version‘s ordering more natural, while others will follow Good News Translation.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• Soldiers who are doing military (or, soldier) work don’t want to involve themselves with other kinds of work, since they want to cause their commander to be pleased with them.

Or:
• A soldier who is doing his military work wants to cause his commander to be satisfied with him. So he does not involve himself with other kinds of work.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Now is actually “But” (Good News Translation); the Greek text in fact begins with an emphatic “But you” (or better, “But as for you”), thus marking the contrast between Timothy and the false teachers mentioned in the previous section.

You have observed translates an aorist but with a perfect sense, a fact that is reflected in many translations. The ordinary meaning of the verb is “to accompany,” which makes it a fitting description of the action of a disciple in regard to his or her master; this verb in fact is used in Stoicism to describe the master-disciple relationship. From this ordinary meaning have developed two other related meanings: (1) to make a careful study and diligent investigation of something (so Contemporary English Version “you know,” New International Version “know all about”); (2) to conform to a particular model, to follow closely, to follow faithfully. This second meaning is preferred by many translations. (See further comments on the same verb translated “followed” in 1 Tim 4.6.) The rendering in Revised Standard Version have observed is ambiguous in the sense that “observe” here can mean either “watch” (that is, pay attention to) or “obey.”

Except for the last two, the nine features that Paul mentions as examples that Timothy has followed deal with personal qualities that characterize his life as a Christian and as a leader of the Christian community.

For teaching see the same term translated “doctrine” in 1 Tim 1.10. Included here is perhaps both content and method: “what I teach” and “how I teach.”

Conduct appears only here in the whole New Testament. The word denotes one’s way of life, particularly one’s daily behavior. Here it focuses on how Paul has conducted his life both as a Christian and as a church leader. So one may translate “the way I live,” “the way I walk my life.”

For aim in life (Good News Translation “purpose in life”) see comments on “purpose” in 2 Tim 1.9. The word comes from the verb that means “to plan in advance,” hence “plan,” “main purpose,” “main concern,” “intentions.”

For faith see 1 Tim 1.5. Here it could be objective, referring to content (“what I believe”), or subjective, referring to Paul’s relationship to Christ (“how much I trust Christ”).

For patience see 1 Tim 1.16.

For love see 1 Tim 1.5. As is often the case, the focus here is not vertical but horizontal, that is, love directed to people rather than to God.

For steadfastness (Good News Translation “endurance”) see 1 Tim 6.11. There is a close relationship between steadfastness and patience (see above). On the one hand, patience puts focus on the emotional state of a person, that is, a person’s ability to remain calm when confronted with adverse and unpleasant circumstances. Steadfastness, on the other hand, focuses on a person’s ability to persevere or endure in the midst of difficult situations.

In many languages it will be helpful to divide this long sentence into two sentences; for example,
• But as for you, Timothy, you have paid attention to my teaching and have lived your life as I have, having the same purpose in life. You have observed (or, seen) how much I trust in Christ, my ability to put up with troubles, how I love other people, and my ability to endure.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Instead of “by command of God,” we have here by the will of God, a formula that is present in some of Paul’s letters (see, for example, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians). This change can perhaps be explained by the fact that Paul’s authority as an apostle has already been established in the first letter, and since there is no need to reiterate it here, Paul goes back to the more traditional formula. Will has two components of meaning, namely, “wish” or “desire,” and “intent” or “purpose.” Perhaps both elements are present here, which means that Paul’s apostleship is in obedience to what God wants and in accordance with God’s purpose and plan. In certain languages it will be necessary to restructure an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and employ a causative expression; for example, “God made me an apostle (or, personal representative) of Christ Jesus because that is what he wanted” or “God wanted me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and so he made me one.” It is also possible to use two sentences for this one Greek sentence and say “From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. God himself chose me to be an apostle…” (compare Contemporary English Version), or “I, Paul, who am an apostle of Christ Jesus, write this letter to you, Timothy. God chose me to be an apostle….”

The phrase according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus translates the Greek text literally but gives little clue as to what it means and how it is related to the rest of the verse.

First of all, the phrase may be understood as qualifying the will of God, hence “by the will of God that is according to the promise….” But secondly, it may qualify apostle of Christ Jesus, in which case the sense is “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and according to the promise of life….”

If this second option is chosen, it will still be necessary to define how the promise of the life is related to Paul’s apostleship. Here there are two options as well. First, it may mean that Paul’s apostleship is a result of and in harmony with the promise of the life, in which case the sense is “Because I have experienced the promised life that Jesus makes possible, God has appointed me as an apostle.” But it is more likely that what is intended here is that Paul was made an apostle in order to do something about the promise of the life. For this second option Good News Translation is a good model.

But what is the meaning of the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus? First of all, the expression the promise of the life (literally “the promise of life”) also occurs in 1 Tim 4.8. Here as there, the promise has God as its source and life as its content, hence “the life that God has promised.” Life here is eternal life; see further on 1 Tim 1.16. So one may translate “and he gave me eternal life which he promised.”

Secondly, the prepositional phrase which is in Christ Jesus is to be taken with life rather than with promise. The kind of life being referred to here is experienced as a result of being in Christ Jesus, that is, having a relationship with Christ that is so close and intimate that people experience themselves to be completely united with Christ. For further discussion of the expression in Christ Jesus, see 1 Tim 1.14. With these comments in mind, another way of expressing this sentence is “and he [God] gave me the life which he had promised to give me. This life comes as a result of being in a close relationship with Christ Jesus.”

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Paul’s attention now turns to Timothy; in fact, from this verse on to the end of the chapter, the focus is on Timothy and how he is expected to behave as a young leader of the Christian community.

Do your best translates a verb that refers to the act of putting the utmost effort in some activity; hence “make every effort,” “try as hard as you can,” and so on.

Present translates a verb that literally means “to place beside” and in an extended way has taken the meaning “to exhibit, to prove, to show, to present.” In languages that do not use the passive voice, this first sentence may be expressed as “Try as hard as you can to win God’s approval,” “… to cause God to approve of you,” or “… to cause God to feel pleased with you.”

For workman see 1 Tim 5.18 (“laborer”). Here, of course, it is used with an extended meaning referring to one who works for the gospel.

Who has no need to be ashamed translates a compound verb composed of a negative prefix and the word for being ashamed (for which see 2 Tim 1.8, 12, 16).

Rightly handling also translates a Greek verb that occurs only here in the New Testament. Literally it refers to the act of cutting something in a straight way; figuratively it refers to expounding something rightly, or teaching something correctly. Here, what needs to be handled correctly is the word of truth, which may refer to the gospel itself (see Eph 1.13). The word of truth may be translated as “the true word” or “the true message,” or perhaps more properly “the message about the truth.” For truth see 1 Tim 2.4.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• You must try as hard as you can to cause God to fully approve of you as a worker who is not ashamed of his work and correctly teaches the true message.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Following a structure that is found throughout the Pastoral Letters, the reference to apostasy in verses 3-4 is immediately followed by words of instruction to Timothy, exhorting him to a course of action that is appropriate for the situation. This verse therefore begins with As for you (literally “But you”; see Good News Translation) and continues with four more imperatives.

Be steady (literally “be sober”) has the primary meaning of abstinence from wine, although in a wider sense it also refers to an ascetic life, a life withdrawn from involvement in the world. It is, however, used here metaphorically, in which case it means being alert and controlled both in speech and conduct. This is the meaning that is reflected in many translations; for example, Good News Translation “keep control of yourself,” New International Version “keep your head,” Phillips “keep your mind sane and balanced,” New English Bible “keep calm and sane,” Contemporary English Version “must stay calm.” Another model for always be steady is “But you must stay calm no matter what happens to you.”

Endure suffering is a theme that runs through this letter (see, for example, 1.8; 2.3; and 2.9). It refers to bearing hardships with patience and courage (so Jerusalem Bible “be brave under trials,” Phillips “meeting whatever suffering this may involve”).

Evangelist occurs only here in the Pastoral Letters and twice more in the New Testament (Acts 21.8 and Eph 4.11). The word can literally be rendered as “one who proclaims the gospel” (so Phillips “go on steadily preaching the gospel,” Jerusalem Bible “the preaching of the Good News,” Good News Translation “do the work of a preacher of the Good News”). In the Ephesians reference evangelist is mentioned as one of the various offices or functions within the church, together with apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers. This office may have developed as the church became more organized; the primary role of the evangelist was to proclaim the Good News to nonbelievers in order to bring them to faith.

The word for fulfill is a compound verb that gives the idea of doing something completely (so Jerusalem Bible “thoroughgoing,” Phillips “carry out to the full”). Ministry translates the Greek word diakonia (from which “deacon” is derived), which is used here in a general sense as referring to any type of Christian service, and not specifically to the ministerial office of deacon that is discussed in 1 Tim 2.8-13. What the clause is saying, then, is that Timothy should do everything that is necessary in the performance of his duties as a servant of God. Another way to express this is “As a servant of God you must do all the work that he has assigned (or, asked) you to do.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• But you must stay calm (or, control yourself) no matter what happens to you, and endure whatever suffering this involves. You must work hard to tell the Good News, and as a servant of God you must do all the work he has assigned you to do.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

And therefore is literally “because of which cause,” which goes back to verse 11; it is because of Paul being a preacher-apostle-teacher of the gospel that he is experiencing his present state of suffering. I suffer as I do most probably refers to his being in prison, a condition that is assumed in the letter. In many languages it will be helpful to begin a new sentence here and say, for example, “For this reason I suffer as I do,” or “For this reason I am presently suffering,” or “That is why I suffer” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

Nevertheless, in much the same way that Paul has exhorted Timothy not to be ashamed, so he clearly states that he himself is not ashamed because of the certainty of his faith in Christ. For ashamed see 2 Tim. 1.8. It is possible that the focus here is on Paul’s attitude toward his condition of being a prisoner, since the natural assumption is that people who are put in prison have committed some terrible crime, and this kind of assumption would be made in the case of Paul as well. What he is saying therefore is “I am not ashamed, even though I am now in prison.” In Good News Translation there is an attempt to capture the intention of the expression by means of the positive statement “I am still full of confidence.” This captures the emotive tone of the expression; that is, by saying what he said, Paul has shown bold confidence, determination, and courage in the midst of the difficult circumstances with which he is faced. The Good News Translation restructuring may be valid in some cultures, but in cultures where the concept of “shame” plays a prominent part, it is preferable in this case to stay as close as possible to the Greek text.

The basis of Paul’s bold attitude is his knowledge of the one in whom he has “believed.” Know here is much more than simply having information, for it includes being acquainted with and having a close relationship with someone. Whom is ambiguous; it can refer to either Christ or God. Considering, however, the New Testament practice of associating faith more with Christ than with God, it is more likely that the former is meant. Believed is better translated as “trusted” (so Good News Translation), since it pertains to having trust and confidence in someone to the extent of relying and depending on that someone.

For sure, see 2 Tim. 1.5 above. The verb is in the perfect tense, indicating a continuing sense of assurance. Able contains both the elements of competence and ability, with focus on the latter. For guard see 1 Tim 5.21, where it is rendered “keep.” The focus here is on guarding something closely in order to make sure that it is not damaged or lost, hence “safeguard” (New Jerusalem Bible), “keep safe” (Revised English Bible), “take care of” (Translator’s New Testament).

The Greek for entrusted to me appears only here in the whole New Testament. The noun form is used to refer to a deposit, and figuratively to something that is put in the trust of someone. The Greek is literally “my deposit” or “my trust” and is in the genitive case, but with no clear clue as to whether the genitive should be taken as objective (for example, “something entrusted to me”; compare Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation; Contemporary English Version “what he has trusted me with”) or subjective (for example, “something I have entrusted to someone else”; compare Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, King James Version). In the first option, what is entrusted to Paul may be one of two things: (1) his own ministry or any aspects of it; (2) the gospel. In this second case “my trust” would be parallel to “the truth that has been entrusted to you” in verse 14 and also to “what has been entrusted to you” in 1 Tim 6.20. As for the second alternative, what Paul is entrusting to Christ would probably be his own life, with the assurance that Christ can guard his life even to the end of the age. The eschatological tone of the verse, as shown by the mention of Day, favors this interpretation.

Day here is used as a technical term for the final day when God judges all human beings, punishing those who are evil and rewarding those who are obedient to his will. Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation signal this understanding by capitalizing Day. In languages that cannot use capitalization like this, it will be necessary to say, for example, “that last (or, final) day.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• For this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed (or, I am completely confident), because I know the one [Christ] whom I believe (or, trust) in. I am certain that he is able to keep (me) safe until that final day (what he has given to me to look after).

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse concludes the sentence that began at verse 24; some translations begin a new sentence here in order to be faithful to the formal and stylistic requirements of the receptor language.

The theme of what could happen to the opponents is continued here. If indeed they repent and come to know the true gospel message, they will perhaps escape from the snare of the devil. These three items, repent, know, and escape, seem to be in sequence, suggesting a process, and all three constitute the purpose of the correcting and disciplining ministry of Timothy (verse 25a). And they may escape may also be expressed as “and in this way they…,” where “this way” points back to their repentance.

Escape translates a verb that appears only here in the New Testament and that means “to become sober” or “to come to one’s senses.” Most modern translations reflect this understanding (in addition to Good News Translation, also New International Version, Translator’s New Testament “they will come to their senses and get away from him,” New American Bible, Revised “they may return to their senses out of the devil’s snare”). In this context the one verb implies both the ideas of coming to one’s senses and of escape as well.

The last part of this verse has presented problems of interpretation that have translation implications as well. New Revised Standard Version presents a literal translation of the Greek as follows: “having been held captive by him to do his will.” The problem is determining the antecedents of “him” in “by him” and “his” in “to do his will.” The matter is complicated somewhat by the Greek text, in which two words are used for the same pronoun, the first word being simply rendered as “him” and the second one as “that one” (hence “that one’s will”). There have been several suggested solutions to this problem, among which are: (1) “having been held captive by the devil (now, or from henceforth) to do God’s will”; (2) “having been held captive by the Lord’s servant, in order to do the Lord’s will”; (3) “having been held captive by the devil in order to do the devil’s will.” This third option is the choice of most translations. Perhaps it is possible to do justice to the second pronoun by taking it as emphatic; for example, “that dreaded devil’s will.” See 1.20 for comments on the devil, or Satan.

One notes finally that, in terms of chronological sequence, the Greek text is in reverse order, since being entrapped obviously comes before being rescued. It may be necessary in some languages to reorder the various parts of this verse, depending of course on the requirements of the language and the expectations of the intended audience. One translation that has done this is Translator’s New Testament:
• The devil may have caught them alive in his snare and made them do whatever he wants. But perhaps God will help them to repent and know the truth, so that they will come to their senses and get away from him.

Another possible reordering of the sentences in verses 25b and 26 is:
• The devil has trapped these people and makes them obey him. But God will cause them to turn away from their evil ways and come to know the truth, so that they may come to their senses and escape from the devil.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Defense appears only here in the Pastoral Letters. This term can be used in an informal sense, referring to answers given to private accusations (compare 1 Peter 3.15; “clear yourselves” in 2 Cor 7.11); in the present context, however, it is used in a formal sense, referring to arguments to refute accusations presented before a court of law (compare Acts 19.33; 22.1; 26.1, 2, 24). The event being alluded to here is Paul’s first trial before the Emperor in Rome. Other translation models for At my first defense are “When I was first tried” or “When I first defended myself in the law court.”

Took my part: this verb in various contexts can mean “come, arrive,” “appear (in public),” or “stand by, come to the aid of (someone).” What Paul seems to be saying in this context is that no one among the Christians in Rome went with him to the trial in order to lend him support. On the contrary, they all forsook him. The clause no one took my part may also be expressed as “no one witnessed on my behalf,” or even “no one helped me” (Contemporary English Version). For deserted see comments on 2 Tim 4.10.

Charged translates a verb that literally means “to put into one’s accounts” or “to charge one’s account.” In the present context the verb is used figuratively to denote not keeping a record of this wrongdoing, with the result that the people involved are exempt from the consequences. This sense is captured in a variety of ways by various translations; for example, Good News Translation “May God not count it against them,” Jerusalem Bible “may they not be held accountable.” Some translations completely drop the figure in order to get at the meaning; for example, Phillips “God forgive them,” New English Bible “I pray that it may not be held against them.”

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .